MARTY’S Monthly Message
The Holiday Magic at Mercy festivities had spirits soaring throughout the hospital campus in December. Thanks to the generous support of the Mercy Hospital Medical Staff and Foundation, there were lights and decorations everywhere you turned and many schools and organizations filled our lobby with holiday music and cheer. Then, with just two days to go before Christmas, the blizzard struck.
As usual, we all knew what we needed to do. Thank you to the entire Mercy Hospital family for coming together during the Blizzard of ‘22 to help each other and to care for our patients. The selfless and dedicated efforts of many associates and physicians helped keep the hospital running smoothly.
Weathering a storm of this magnitude continues to demonstrate how resilient we are and how committed we are to our mission of caring. As we drive forward in 2023, we will remain steadfast in our journey to strengthen and position Mercy Hospital for a successful future. Our key priorities on the road ahead of us will be:
• Retention – This is and will continue to be our primary area of focus. It is critically important that we keep our loyal dedicated associates so that we can continue to foster a culture of teamwork where our associates feel like an integral part of our team.
• Capacity Management – Patient flow in our buildings is a daily challenge that affects both our patients and our associates. We need to identify and implement ways to improve patient flow to increase patient and associate satisfaction while optimizing our resources.
• Specialty Growth & Development – We need to identify and create opportunities to grow
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MERCY
Maternity Care and Heart Attack Care Receive Top Ratings from U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report, a leading national authority on hospital rankings and consumer advice, named Mercy Hospital a “High Performing Hospital” for Maternity Care and Heart Attack Care, 2022-23.
Of the 300 hospitals nationwide that received the high performing designation for maternity care, only nine are from New York State, with both Mercy and Sisters of Charity being the only two hospitals in Western New York to receive this distinction as a “Best Hospital for Maternity Care.”
“When expectant parents are deciding where to deliver their baby, the Best Hospitals for Maternity Care listing can help them make more informed decisions about where to receive their maternity care,” said Dr. Lynn Aronica, Chair of Mercy’s OB/GYN Department. “We’re extremely proud of our Mother-Baby team for earning this distinguished achievement.”
During Mercy’s U.S. News Heart Attack Care award celebration, Henry Meltser, MD, Medical Director of the Cardiovascular Catheterization Laboratory said, “These national quality rankings are a testament to our Heart Center team’s extraordinary commitment to providing the highest level of patient care and safety.”
U.S. News & World Report evaluates more than 4,500 medical centers across the country in 25 specialties, procedures, and conditions. The Best Hospitals rankings are based on criteria such as patient survival and safety data, the number of times a given procedure is performed, infection rates, readmission rates, and other quality measures.
FEBRUARY / MARCH 2023
Mercy’s Mother-Baby team gathered to celebrate the High Performing Hospital rating.
Staff celebrated a top rating for heart attack care in December.
Sweet Mercy!
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
Dr. Kulwant S. Bhangoo, Chief of Plastic Surgery, was recently honored at the 56th Annual Conference of the Association of Plastic Surgeons of India, held in Amritsar, India in November.
Dr. Bhangoo was presented with the Award of Excellence for his contributions towards the training of Indian Plastic Surgeons. For many years, plastic surgeons from India have visited Mercy Hospital as fellows and observers, and many of them have gone on to become some of the leading plastic surgeons of India.
A warm welcome goes out to Dr. Michael Wilber who joined Trinity Medical Cardiology last fall. Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease and Echocardiography, he completed a fellowship in Interventional Cardiology at the University of Rochester Medical Center. He is also a member of Mercy Hospital’s Structural Heart and TAVR team.
Lori Dufresne, MS, RN, ANP-BC, was recently honored with the 2022 Registered Professional Nurse of Excellence Award by the New York State Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Council. The award recognizes her contributions and dedication to the EMS Community and special skills related to the pre-hospital environment. She currently serves as the Catholic Health System Director of Emergency and Acute Neuroscience Services.
Matthew Ferber joined the Mercy Hospital Facilities and Engineering team as the Facilities Manager last fall. He previously served as the Operations Manager at Darien Lake Theme Park, a position he held for 17 years. A native and resident of East Aurora, Matt holds an associate’s degree in Facilities Management from Mohawk Vally Community College.
Jessica Visser Named VP of Patient Care Services
Since joining Mercy Hospital in December as VP of Patient Care Services/Chief Nursing Officer, Jessica Visser, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, has been busy getting to know our hospital and its nursing team.
Jessica previously served as VP of Patient Care Services at Sisters Hospital since 2019, where she helped lead the transition of St. Joseph Campus into a dedicated COVID-19 Treatment Facility. She began her career at Catholic Health at Mount St. Mary’s Hospital, where she served as a Nursing Unit Manager, Supervisor and Director before being named VP of Patient Care Services in 2016.
“Jessica’s strong leadership skills and ability to guide her team in the midst
of tremendous change is an asset to our hospital and helps ensure our patients receive the highest quality care as we continue to recover from the challenges of the past few years,” said Marty Boryszak, Catholic Health EVP of Acute Care and President of Mercy Hospital.
Jessica holds a bachelor’s degree in Nursing from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI, and a Master’s of Science in Nursing. She obtained her Nursing Executive Advanced Certification and is a Green Belt in Lean Six Sigma.
Congratulations to our LOVE Award Winners
Mercy Hospital hosted a special awards ceremony to honor the L.O.V.E. Award recipients for 2022.
Honorees included: Joseph Krolczyk, an equipment technician in MME, 1st Quarter Award; Lynn Williams, patient access specialist, 2nd Quarter Award; Sarah Ingersoll, nurse assistant in Float Pool, 3rd Quarter Award; and Susan Zawadski, immediate treatment assistant in ICU, 4th Quarter Award.
The dedicated associates were nominated by their co-workers for Living Our Values Effectively (L.O.V.E.) in their daily work and contributions to our hospital and patients.
Celebrating Birthdays at Mercy Hospital!
Mercy Hospital is pleased to announce our new monthly Associate Birthday Celebrations as another way to thank and recognize our dedicated hospital team. Each month, our birthday associates will be mailed an invitation to their homes to attend a FREE birthday lunch.
“We started these birthday luncheons as a way to have some casual conversation and get to know each other
better,” said Christina Tobin, VP of Operations. Our next celebration will be held on March 28 from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm in conference rooms A & B.
Dr. Kulwant Bhangoo
Lori Dufresne
Dr. Michael Wilber
Matthew Ferber
Marty Boryszak congratulates honorees, l.-r., Sarah Ingersoll, Susan Zawadski, Joseph Krolczyk and Lynn Williams.
Enjoying a special birthday luncheon in January were, l.-r., Linda Pollinger, Tammy Kowalik and Maureen Menczynski.
Jessica Visser
When the Blizzard’s Howling and There’s Nowhere to Go, Who You Gonna Call? Mercy’s SNOWbusters!
Mercy at Work
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call
It was the “Blizzard that Stole Christmas”—at least how we traditionally celebrate it with loved ones near. But the holiday spirit remained alive and well as staff rode out the storm here at Mercy and gave it their all to keep our patients and each other safe. Here are a few of their stories:
It was her first day on the job as a respiratory care therapist when Sarah Herrmann began the third shift on December 22. While not anticipated, her shift lasted over 84 hours! Welcome to Mercy Buffalo!
Aaron Menczynski, a CVICU nurse, had been working for over 48 hours when he was relieved on Christmas Day. He then spent the rest of his holiday coordinating rides for other CVICU staff. He was able to give one nurse a ride to Mercy, and on his way to pick up another, his truck got stuck and he was stranded for a few hours.
Jennifer Livingston of Dietary called for a ride on Sunday so she could make it to work for her shift on Monday. Little did she know that she would get a call from the National Guard at 12 midnight who asked her to be ready to go in 30 minutes. Two guardsmen managed to get down her snow-filled side street and then shoveled a path to her door. She arrived at Mercy at 2 am and stayed through Wednesday.
It was Mary Virginia McElroy’s third shift of orientation in the CVICU as a new nursing graduate when the
blizzard struck. On Christmas Eve, she went to the hospital gift shop and purchased gifts for everyone on the unit to open on Christmas.
Executive Chef Chris Damiani put his driving and culinary skills to work and then some. He tried mightily to drive to Mercy on Saturday but was turned back with roads blocked by abandoned vehicles. He did make it in on Christmas morning and picked up food service attendant Patrick Lynch on his way. In an amazing feat, he used Wegmans food donations on Tuesday morning to make 650 fresh breakfast sandwiches that were devoured by staff and guests!
Katie Decaire is a night shift CVICU nurse who drove through dangerous conditions to provide help at Mercy. She stayed and worked for over 48 hours, well beyond her mandated time, and then kept going by switching to her other job as a flight nurse with MercyFlight.
Theresa Zaifert of Dietary couldn’t get to Mercy but her kindness and compassion shined. Because of a gas heater, she had the only house on her block with heat. She took in 13 neighbors and a dog, was credited with saving an elderly couple, and fed everyone to boot—including a “space heater ham” she made for the holiday!
Most of our blizzard stories came to an end a few days after Christmas but for Tiffany Garvey and Chris Porter of Flint, Michigan, their blizzard experience continued for six more weeks at Mercy Hospital’s NICU as they waited for their baby boy Dominic to get strong enough to take home.
The couple was in Buffalo visiting relatives for the holiday. Almost 30-weeks into her pregnancy, Tiffany experienced some health issues on Friday and needed to get to the hospital. After a treacherous ambulance drive to Mercy, Tiffany was cared for by the hospital team and was scheduled to be discharged on Saturday but she and Chris became stranded by the blizzard. In an unexpected turn of events,Tiffany went into labor on December 26 and delivered a baby boy. Because of his small size, Dominic needed specialized care in the NICU. Six weeks later, on February 6, they finally walked out of Mercy Hospital with their new bundle of joy and headed home. They raved about all the wonderful care they experienced at Mercy’s Birth Center and the warm hospitality they received.
The Perry Family from Georgia, pictured above, was on their way to Niagara Falls hoping to have a Christmas visit with their mom who is a travel nurse at Buffalo General Hospital. But their plans changed when impassable roads forced them to abandon their car on December 23. Buffalo Police brought them to Mercy Hospital where they stayed on the 5 East Unit through Monday. Nurse Emily Biddeman recalled how nice the family was and how the staff were trying to make Christmas special for them, especially the young children. On Monday, the family moved next door to the Sisters of Mercy where they reunited with their mom and stayed through Wednesday.
could
them “Miracle Workers”! Led by Director Mike Galbraith, a bare bones Dietary staff of ten found a way to feed 600 associates and stranded guests plus over 300 patients, three times a day, from Friday evening, December 23 through Tuesday. They would alternate from serving patients, with a lot of help from staff volunteers and Nursing, to feeding the staff and guests. The exhausted team got some relief on Monday with donations from Imperial Pizza, Doc Sullivans Restaurant, Butera’s Craft Pizza, O’Brien’s Kitchen & Smokehouse, Wegmans West Seneca and Upstate Farms Milk.
Sarah Hermann
Mary Virginia McElroy
Theresa Zaifert
Aaron Menczynski
Katie Decaire
NICU Nurse Amanda Santiago hands baby Dominic, born during the storm, to his mom Tiffany Garvey.
Monthly Message
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procedural volume in our Cardiac Labs, Surgical Services, and Obstetrical Program. This is especially important to grow and expand Mercy as it is a critical tertiary center for WNY.
• Patient Experience – We want our patients to have the best possible experience while here under our care. They are the backbone of our hospital and we want to make sure they are taken care of from the time they arrive here in our building until they are discharged and beyond in their care continuum.
• Quality Care – We have so many successes to celebrate for the quality care we provide. We need to continue on this path and strive for greater achievements in excellence when it comes to quality of care.
The door is open and we welcome all of you to hop in and help us drive these important goals home in ‘23. Thank you for all you do.
Congratulations TO OUR GREAT CATCH WINNERS
Congratulations to Mercy Hospital’s Great Catch (GC) Award winners: Ashley Gay, RN, of the ICU who was also named Catholic Health’s 3rd Quarter GC Winner; Emily Quinn, RN, of the CVICU; Tina Swan, RN, nurse at the MACC; and Trinalynn Almonte, of Central Supply. The award recognizes associates whose attention to detail and commitment to quality care and patient safety helps “catch” a potential error before it has a chance to cause patient harm.
Ambulance Transfers at the Touch of a Button
Catholic Health has become among the first hospitals in New York State and first in the WNY region to integrate their electronic health record (EHR) with American Medical Response’s (AMR) OnLine Ordering System (OLOS) for both emergent and non-emergent patient transport. This new feature will expedite and streamline the process of transferring patients to other area hospitals and healthcare facilities based on the medical needs of the patient.
The interface between Epic and OLOS allows hospital staff to submit an online request for an ambulance with the touch of a button versus the traditional phone-ordering system. In addition, staff will have real-time access to expected arrival times for
transport to better manage patient throughput, while at the same time, AMR will be automatically alerted to the level of service and equipment needs required of the ambulance.
Warm Welcome TO OUR NEW MERCY ASSOCIATES
Corie Lipinoga 6 East
Michelle Drcelik Central Transport
Kailey Frank 5 East
Megan Redfern 7 East
Matthew Klotz 6 East
Rebecca Zdrojewski ED
SteveJerome Ragans EVS
Dylan Carnahan Central Transport
Katherine Bifulco 6 East
Enquinnette Ellis Float Pool
Shaleice Watley EVS
Amanda Lopez Float Pool
Ashley McCubbin ED
Courtney Beyer ED
Shammirrya Johnson Float Pool
Janice Neal Float Pool
Kendelle Thomasula ICU
Wahida Dipa OR
Diana Hussain ED
Taylor Jakubik Float Pool
Takiyah Carthon 5 West
Aluk Akuey Float Pool
Amanda Engelbach-Schafer CVICU
Alma Guyton Lab
Cheri Simpson 5 East
Darnesha McCant Float Pool
Amanda Smotherman CVICU
Kayley Kernitz ICU
MERCY FEBRUARY /
MARCH 2023
Kira Benedict Float Pool Tabatha Wilbon Switchboard Mariah Foster 6 West Julia Carocci Pharmacy Abigail Swiniuch Sterile Processing Jazzmin Lewis Float Pool Cameron Rowell EVS Alex Wolff Dietary Nache Clark EVS Khaleda Parbin 7 East Elysiah Shedrick-Evan 7 East Breyonna Carr 6 East Malik Bounds EVS Emilia Heberle Respiratory Therapy Aalliyah Teasley 7 West Natalia Oles Lab Aneury Colon ED Nafisa Absari CVICU Claire Grana 7 West Maura Zackey 7 West Jessica Porter ED Cheri Ely ED
A
Ashley Gay, RN Emily Quinn, RN
Trinalynn Almonte
Tina Swan, RN
AMR OLOS is a game changer for our care teams, l.-r. Allison Revelas, ED Nurse Manager; Jackie Klass, IT Project Manager; Gloria Pirowski, Director of Patient Logistics & Epic-AMR Project Lead; and Joan Metty, RN, ED Charge Nurse.
